公共汽车
bus (public)
gōnggòng qìchē
What does 公共汽车 mean?
公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē) is the formal Chinese word for 'public bus' — the four-character compound literally reads 'public-shared gas-vehicle.' It's the term taught in HSK textbooks and printed on official signage, but in everyday spoken Mandarin on the mainland, people almost always shorten it to 公交车 (gōngjiāochē), or just 公交 in compounds like 公交卡 (bus card) and 公交站 (bus stop). Taiwan tends to say 公车 (gōngchē).
The word refers specifically to a city bus on a fixed route — not a long-distance coach (长途汽车), shuttle (班车), or school bus (校车). When you board, you tap a 公交卡 or scan a phone QR code; fares are usually flat. Saying 公共汽车 in casual conversation isn't wrong, just a tiny tell that you learned Chinese from a textbook.
Note: Textbook word. In daily conversation most mainland speakers shorten it to 公交车 (gōngjiāochē) or just 公交; in Taiwan, people say 公车 (gōngchē)
Character breakdown
public; common
shared; together
vapor; gas (the fuel)
vehicle; car
Memory hook: Break it apart: 公共 (public-shared) + 汽车 (gas-vehicle = car). A car that everyone shares = a bus.
Measure word for 公共汽车
Example sentences
我每天坐公共汽车去学校。
Wǒ měitiān zuò gōnggòng qìchē qù xuéxiào.
I take the bus to school every day.
neutral
公共汽车站在前面。
Gōnggòng qìchē zhàn zài qiánmiàn.
The bus stop is up ahead.
neutral
我们等了二十分钟公共汽车。
Wǒmen děng le èrshí fēnzhōng gōnggòng qìchē.
We waited twenty minutes for the bus.
spoken
请问，去机场坐几路公共汽车？
Qǐng wèn, qù jīchǎng zuò jǐ lù gōnggòng qìchē?
Excuse me, which bus number goes to the airport?
polite
Common phrases with 公共汽车
Synonyms
The everyday spoken form on the mainland. Use 公交车 in conversation; 公共汽车 sounds textbook-formal.
Loanword from English 'bus,' used more in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and trendy contexts (机场巴士 airport bus, 双层巴士 double-decker). Mainland speakers default to 公交车.
班车 is a shuttle bus on a fixed schedule for a specific group — company shuttle, school shuttle. 公共汽车 is open to the general public.
Don't confuse 公共汽车 with
出租车 is a taxi — private hire. 公共汽车 is shared public transit on a fixed route. Different price, different experience.
汽车 alone just means 'car / motor vehicle.' Add 公共 to make it specifically a public bus.
火车 is a train (literally 'fire vehicle'). 公共汽车 runs on city streets; 火车 runs on rails.
FAQ
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